The Moral Basis of Vegetarianism

THE MORAL BASIS

OF

VEGETARIANISM

BY

M. K. GANDHI

NAVAJIVAN PUBLISHING HOUSE
AHMED AB AD-380 014

Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2016

https://archive.org/details/mkgpamphlet0300mkga

THE MORAL BASIS

OF

VEGETARIANISM

BY

M. K. GANDHI

NAVAJIVAN PUBLISHING HOUSE
AHMEDABAD - 380 014

Rupess Five

© Navajivan Trust, 1959

First Edition 10,000 Copies, April 1959
This Reprint 3,000 Copies, September 1997
Total : 37,000 Copies

ISBN 81-7229-122-1

Printed and Published by
Jitendra T. Desai
Navajivan Mudranalaya
Ahmedabad - 380 014
India

CONTENTS

CHAPTER Page

1. FOOD VALUES 3

2. UNFIRED FOOD 13

3. VITAL NEED FOR RESEARCH 16

4. VEGETARIANISM 18

5. NOT AN END IN ITSELF 2 1

6. THE MORAL BASIS OF VEGETARIANISM 23

7. OUR DAILY DIET 28

8. MINIMUM DIET 33

THE MORAL BASIS OF VEGETARIANISM

CHAPTER 1

FOOD VALUES

Whilst it is true that man cannot live without air
and water, the thing that nourishes the body is food.
Hence the saying, food is life.

Food can be divided into three categories : vegeta-
rian, flesh and mixed. Flesh foods include fowl and
fish. Milk is an animal product and cannot by any
means be included in a strictly vegetarian diet. It serves
the purpose of meat to a very large extent. In medical
language it is classified as animal food. A layman does
not consider milk to be animal food. On the other hand,
eggs are regarded by the layman as a flesh food. In
reality, they are not. Nowadays sterile eggs are also pro-
duced. The hen is not allowed to see the cock and yet
it lays eggs. A sterile egg never develops into a chick.
Therefore, he who can take milk should have no objec-
tion to taking sterile eggs.

Medical opinion is mostly in favour of a mixed
diet, although there is a growing school, which is strongly
of the opinion that anatomical and physiological evi-
dence is in favour of man being a vegetarian. His teeth,
his stomach, intestines etc. seem to prove that nature
has meant man to be a vegetarian.

Vegetarian diet, besides grains, pulses, edible
roots, tubers and leaves, includes fruits, both fresh and
dry. Dry fruit includes nuts like almonds, pistachio,
walnut etc.

Milk

I have always been in favour of pure vegetarian
diet. But experience has taught' me that in order to

4

THE MORAL BASIS OF VEGETARIANISM

keep perfectly fit, vegetarian diet must include milk
and milk products such as curds, butter, ghee etc.
This is a significant departure from my original idea.
I excluded milk from my diet for six years. At that time,
I felt none the worse for the denial. But in the year 1917,
as a result of my own ignorance, I was laid down with
severe dysentery. I was reduced to a skeleton, but I
stubbornly refused to take any medicine and with equal
stubbornness refused to take milk or buttermilk. But I
could not build up my body and piclc up sufficient
strength to leave the bed. I had taken a vow of not
taking milk. A medical friend suggested that at the
time of taking the vow, I could have had in mind* only
the milk of the cow and buffalo; why should the vow
prevent me from taking goat’s milk? My wife supported
him and I yielded. Really speaking, for one who has
given up milk, though at the time of taking the vow
only the cow and the buffalo were in mind, milk should
be taboo. All animal milks have practically the same
composition, though the proportion of the components
varies in each case. So I may be said to have kept merely
the letter, not the spirit, of the vow. Be that as it may,
goat’s milk was produced immediately and I drank it.
It seemed to bring me new life. I picked up rapidly and
was soon able to leave the bed. On account of this and
several similar experiences, I have been forced to admit
the necessity of adding milk to the strict vegetarian diet.
But I am convinced that in the vast vegetable kingdom
there must be some kind, which, while supplying those
necessary substances which we derive from milk and
meat, is free from their drawbacks, ethical and other.

In my opinion there are definite drawbacks in
taking milk or meat. In order to get meat we have to
kill. And we are certainly not entitled to any other rriilk

FOOD VALUES

5

except the mother’s milk in our infancy. Over and above
the moral drawback, there are others, purely from the
point of view of health. Both milk and meat bring with
them the defects of the animal from which they are
derived. Domesticated cattle are hardly ever perfectly
healthy. Just like man, cattle suffer from innumerable
diseases. Several of these are overlooked even when the
cattle are subjected to periodical medical examinations.
Besides, medical examination of all the cattle in India
seems to be an impossible feat, at any rate for the present.
What applies to the milch cattle applies to a much
greater extent to the animals slaughtered for meat. As
a general rule, man just depends upon luck to escape
from such risks. He does not seem to worry much about
his health. He considers himself to be quite safe in his
medical fortress in the shape of doctors, vaids and hakims .
His main worry and concern is how to get wealth and
position in society. This worry overshadows all the rest.
Therefore, so long as some selfless scientist does not,
as a result of patient research work, discover a vegetable
substitute for milk and meat, man will go on taking
meat and milk.

Now let us consider mixed diet. Man requires food
which can supply tissue building substances to provide
for the growth and daily wear and tear of the body. It
should also contain something which can supply energy,
fat, certain salts and roughage to help the excretion of
waste matter. Tissue building substances are known as
proteins. They are obtained from milk, meat, eggs,
pulses and nuts. The proteins contained in milk and
meat, in other words, the animal proteins being more
easily digestible and assimilable, are much more valuable
than vegetable proteins. Milk is superior to meat. The
medicoes tell us that in cases where meat cannot be

6

THE MORAL BASIS OF VEGETARIANISM

digested, milk is digested quite easily. For vegetarians
milk, being the only source of animal proteins, is a very /
important article of diet. The proteins in raw eggs are
considered to be the most easily digestible of alj
proteins.

But everybody cannot afford to drink milk. And
milk is not available in every place. I would like to men-
tion here a very important fact with regard to milk.
Contrary to the popular belief, skimmed milk is a very
valuable article of diet. There arc times when it proves
even more useful than whole milk. The chief function
of milk is to supply animal prQteins for tissue building
and tissue repair. Skimming, while it partially removes
the fats, does not affect the proteins at all. Moreover,
the available skimming instruments cannot remove all
the fat from milk. Neither is there any likelihood of such
an instrument being constructed.

Cereals

The body requires other things besides milk, whole
or skimmed. I give the second place to cereals — wheat,
rice, juwar , bajri etc. These are used as the staple diet.
Different cereals are used as staple in different provinces
of India. In many places, more than one kind of cereals
are eaten at the same time, for instance, -small quanti-
ties of wheat, bajri and rice are often served together.
This mixture is not necessary for the nourishment of the
body. It makes it difficult to regulate the quantity of
food intake, and puts an extra strain upon digestion.
As all these varieties supply starch mainly, it is better
to take one only, at a time. Wheat may well be described
as the king among the cereals. If we glance at the world
map, we find that wheat occupies the first place. From
the point of view of health, if we can get wheat, rice and
other cereals become unnecessary. If wheat is not

FOOD VALUES

7

available and juwar etc. cannot be taken on account
of dislike or difficulty in digesting them, rice has to be
resorted to.

The cereals should be properly cleansed, ground
on a grinding stone, and the resulting flour used as it
is. Sieving of the flour should be avoided. It is likely to
remove the bhusi or the pericarp which is a rich source
of salts and vitamins, both of which are most valuable
from the point of view of nutrition. The pericarp also
supplies roughage, which helps the action of the bowels.
Rice grain being very delicate, nature has provided it
with an outer covering or epicarp. This is not edible.
In order to remove this inedible portion, rice has to be
pounded. Pounding should be just sufficient to remove
the epicarp on the outer skin of the rice grain. But
machine pounding not only removes the outer skin,
but also polishes the rice by removing its pericarp. The
explanation of the popularity of polished rice lies in the
fact that polishing helps preservation. The pericarp
is very sweet and unless it is removed, rice is easily
attacked by certain organisms. Polished rice and wheat
without its pericarp, supply us with almost pure starch.
Important constituents of the cereals are lost with the
removal of the pericarp. The pericarp of rice is sold as
rice polishings. This and the pericarp of wheat can be
cooked aad eaten by themselves. They can be also made
into chapatis or cakes. It is possible that rice chapatis
may be more easily digestible than whole rice and in
this form a lesser quantity may result in full satisfac-
tion.

We are in the habit of dipping each morsel of the
chapati in vegetable or dal gravy before eating it. The
result is that most people swallow their food without
proper mastication. Mastication is an important step in

8 THE MORAL BASIS OF VEGETARIANISM

the process of digestion, especially that of starch.
Digestion of starch begins on its coming into contact
with saliva in the mouth. Mastication ensures a thorough
mixing of food with saliva. Therefore, starchy foods
should be eaten in a relatively dry form, which results
in a greater flow of saliva and also necessitates their
thorough mastication.

Pulses

After the starch supplying cereals come the protein
supplying pulses — beans, lentils etc. Almost everybody
seems to think that pulses are an essential constituent
of diet. Even meat eaters must have pulses. It is easy to
understand that those who have to do hard manual
work and who cannot afford to drink milk, cannot do
without pulses. But I can say without any hesitation
whatsoever that those who follow sedentary occupations
as for instance, clerks, businessmen, lawyers, doctors,
teachers and those who are not too poor to buy milk,
do not require pulses. Pulses are generally considered
to be difficult to digest and are eaten in a much smaller
quantity than cereals. Out of the varieties of pulses,
peas, gram and haricot beans are considered to be the
most and mung and masoor (lentils) the least difficult to
digest.

Vegetables

Vegetables and fruits should come third on our
list. One would expect them to be cheap and easily
available in India. But it is not so. They are generally
considered to be delicacies meant for the city people. In
the villages fresh vegetables are a rarity, and in
most places fruit is also not available. This shortage of
greens and fruits is a slur on the administration of
India. The villagers can grow plenty of green vegetables
if they wish to. The question of fruit cannot be solved

FOOD VALUES

so easily. The land legislation is bad from the villager’s
standpoint. But I am transgressing.

Among fresh vegetables, a fair amount of leafy
vegetables must be taken every day. I do not include
potatoes, sweet potatoes, suran etc., which supply starch
mainly, among vegetables. They should be put down in
the same category as starch supplying cereals. A fair
helping of ordinary fresh vegetables in advisable. Certain
varieties such as cucumber, tomatoes, mustard and cress
and other tender leaves need not be cooked. They should
be washed properly and then eaten raw in small
quantities.

Fruits

As for fruits, our daily diet should include the
available fruits of the season, e.g. mangoes, jambu,
guavas, grapes, papaiyas , limes — sweet or sour, oranges,
moosambi , etc. should all be used in their season. The
best time for taking fruit is in the early morning. A
breakfast of fruit and milk should give full satisfaction.
Those who take an early lunch may well have a break-
fast of fruit only.

Banana is a good fruit. But as it is very rich in starch,
it takes the place of bread. Milk and banana make a
perfect meal.

Ghee and Oil

A certain amount of fat is also necessary. This can
be had in the form of ghee or oil. If ghee can be had,
oil becomes unnecessary. It is difficult to digest and is
not so nourishing as pure ghee . An ounce and a half of
ghee per head per day, should be considered ample to
supply the needs of the body. Whole milk also is a source
of ghee . Those who cannot afford it should take enough
oil to supply the need for fat. Among oils, sweet oil,

10

THE MORAL BASIS OF VEGETARIANISM

groundnut oil and cocoanut oil should be given prefe-
rence. Oil must be fresh. If available, it is better to use
hand-pressed oil. Oil and ghee sold in the bazaar are
generally quite useless. It is a matter of great sorrow and
shame. But so long as honesty has not become an inte-
gral, part of business morals, whether through legisla-
tion or through education, the individual will have to
procure the pure article with patience and diligence.
One should never be satisfied to take what one can get,
irrespective of its quality. It is far better to do without
ghee and oil altogether than to eat rancid oil and adul-
terated ghee. As in the case of fats, a certain amount of
sugar is also necessary. Although sweet fruits supply
plenty of sugar, there is no harm in taking one to one
and a half ounces of sugar, brown or white, in the day.
If one cannot get sweet fruits, sugar may become a
necessity. But the undue prominence given to sweet
things nowadays is wrong. City folk eat too much of
sweet things. Milk puddings, milk sweets and sweets
of other kinds are consumed in large quantities.
They are all unnecessary and are harmful except when
taken in very small quantities. It may be said without
any fear of exaggeration that to partake of sweetmeats
and other delicacies, in a country where the millions
do not even get an ordinary full meal, is equivalent to
robbery.

What applies to sweets, applies with equal force
to ghee and oil. There is no need to eat food fried in
ghee or oil. To use up ghee in making puris and laddus is
thoughtless extravagance. Those who are not used to
such food cannot e»t these things at all. For instance,
Englishmen on their first coming into our country cannot
eat our sweets and fried foodstuffs. Those that do eat
them I have often seen fall ill. Taste is acquired, not

FOOD VALUES

11

born with us. All the delicacies of the world cannot
equal the relish that hunger gives to food. A hungry
man will eat a dry piece of bread with the greatest
relish, whereas one who is not hungry will refuse' the
best of sweetmeats. ,

How often and How Much to Eat

Now let us consider how often and how much
should one eat. Food should be taken as a matter
of duty — even as a medicine — to sustain the body,
never for the satisfaction of the palate. Thus, pleasurable
feeling comes from satisfaction of real hunger. There-
fore, we can say that relish is dependent upon hunger
and not outside it. Because of our wrong habits and
artificial way of living, very few people know what
their system requires. Our parents who bring us into
this world do not, as a rule, cultivate self-control.
Their habits and their way of living influence the children
to a certain extent. The mother’s food during pregnancy
is bound to affect the child. After that during childhood,
the mother pampers the child with all sorts of tasty
foods. She gives the child a little bit out of whatever she
herself may be eating and the child’s digestive system
gets a wrong training from its infancy. Habits once
formed are difficult to shed. There are very few who
succeed in getting rid of them. But when the realization
comes to man that he is his own bodyguard, and his
body has been dedicated to service, he desires to learn
the Jaws of keeping his body in a fit condition and tries
hard to follow them.

We have now reached a point when we can lay
down the amount of various foods required by a man
of sedentary habits, which most men and women who
will read these pages, are.

12

THE MORAL BASIS OF VEGETARIANISM

Cow’s milk
Cereals

2 lbs.
6 oz.

(wheat, rice, bajri, in all)
Vegetables leafy

3 oz.

5 oz.

1 oz.
1-| oz.

2 oz.

1 2 oz-

others

Ghee

or Butter

Gur or white sugar

Fresh fruit according to one’s taste and purse. In
any case it is good to take two sour limes a day. The
juice should be squeezed and taken with vegetables
or in water, cold or hot.

All these weights are of raw stuff. I have not pul
down the amount of salt. It should be added afterwards
according to taste.

Now, how often should one eat ? Many people
take two meals a day. The general rule is to take three
meals : breakfast early in the morning and before going
out to work, dinner at midday and supper in the evening
or later. There is no necessity to have more than three
meals. In the cities some people keep on nibbling from
time to time. This habit is harmful. The digestive appa-
ratus requires rest.

Key to Health , pp. 13-27, Edn. 1956

CHAPTER 2

UNFIRED FOOD

[In the course of a letter from Coonoor, dated 26-7-1929, addressed
to Gandhiji in connection with his experiments in dietetics, Dr. R.
McCarrison had written as follows :]

“ One of the great faults in Indian diets at the present day
is their deficiency in vitamin A, in suitable proteins and in certain
salts; and the greatest nutritional need of India is the freer use of
good milk and its products which supply these factors. There can
be no doubt in the minds of those of us who have devoted a life-time
to the study of nutrition that milk is one of the greatest blessings
given to mankind. And to one like myself, whose work is to learn the
truth and spread it, the scarcity of this food in India and the lack of
appreciation of its value are matters of grave concern. Do not, I
beg of you, decry it; for a pint of milk a day will do more for Young
India than most things I wot of. It is, for example, to deficiency of
vitamin A that we owe so much disease of the bowels and lungs, so
much disease of the bladder (such as ‘stone’) and so much anaemia
in this country.

I am glad you are interesting yourself in the matter of food
and I agree with much that you say. But let me assure you. that a
little more ‘fortissimo’ on the ‘milk and milk-products theme’ will
do great good when you are leading the orchestra of Truth.

P.S. — When next you make an Andhra tour, avoid “the
extreme weakness ”, which overtook you in your last one, by taking
a pint of milk a day !

[Commenting on Dr. McCarrison’s letter Gandhiji wrote as under:]

I publish this letter thankfully and wish that other
men versed in medical science would also guide me. In

13

14 THE MORAL BASIS OF VEGETARIANISM

making the experiment, I am trying to find out the truth
about food in so far as it is possible for a layman to do so.

As for Dr. McCarrison’s argument about the neces^
sity of animal food, I dare not as a layman combat it,
but I may state that there are medical men who are
decidedly of opinion that animal food, including milk
is not necessary for sustaining the human system to the
full. By instinct and upbringing I personally favour a
purely vegetarian diet, and have for years been experi-
menting in finding a suitable vegetarian combination.
But there is no danger of my decrying milk until I have
obtained overwhelming evidence in support of a milk-
less diet. It is one of the many inconsistencies of my life
that whilst I am in my own person avoiding milk, I am
conducting a model dairy which is already producing
cow’s milk that can successfully compete with any such
milk produced in India in purity and fat content.

Notwithstanding Dr. McCarrison’s claim for medical
science I submit that scientists have not yet explored
the hidden possibilities of the innumerable seeds, leaves
and fruits for giving the fullest possible nutrition to
mankind. For one thing the tremendous vested interests
that have grown round the belief in animal food prevent
the medical profession from approaching the question
with complete detachment. It almost seems to me
that it is reserved for lay enthusiasts to cut their
way through a mountain of difficulties even at the
risk of their lives to find the truth. I should be satisfied
if scientists would lend their assistance to such humble
seekers.

Young India , 15 - 8-1929

As a searcher for Truth I deem it necessary to find
the perfect food for a man to keep body, mind and soul
in a sound condition. I believe that the search can only

UNFIRED FOOD

15

succeed with unfired food, and that in the limitless vege-
table kingdom there is an effective substitute for milk,
which, every medical man admits, has its drawbacks
and which is designed by nature not for man but for
babies and young ones of lower animals. I should count
no cost too dear for making a search which in my opi-
nion is so necessary from more points of view than one.
I therefore still seek information and guidance from
kindred spirits.

Young India , 22 - 8-1929

If one may take ripe fruit without cooking I see no
reason why one may not take vegetables too in an un-
cooked state provided one can properly digest them.
Dieteticians are of opinion that the inclusion of a small
quantity of raw vegetables like cucumber, vegetable
marrow, pumpkin, gourd, etc., in one’s menu is more
beneficial to health than the eating of large quantities
of the same cooked. But the digestions of most people
are very often so impaired through a surfeit of cooked
fare that one should not be surprised if at first they fail
to do justice to raw greens, though I can say from
personal experience that no harmful effect need follow
if a tola or two of raw greens are taken with each meal
provided one masticates them thoroughly. It is a well-
established fact that one can derive a much greater
amount of nourishment from the same quantity of food
if it is masticated well. The habit of proper mastica-
tion of food inculcated by the use of uncooked greens,
therefore, if it does nothing else, will at least enable
one to do with less quantity of food and thus not only
make for economy in consumption but also automati-
cally reduce the dietetic himsa that one commits to sustain
life. Therefore, whether regarded from the viewpoint
of dietetics or that of Ahimsa, the use of uncooked

16

Till. MORAL BASIS OB VEGETARIANISM

vegetables is not only free from all objection but is to
be highly recommended. Of course, it goes without
saying that if the vegetables are to be eaten raw extra
care will have to be exercised to see that they are not
stale, over-ripe or rotten, or otherwise dirty.

Young India, 15-11-1928

CHAPTER 3

VITAL NEED FOR RESEARCH

The unlimited capacity of the plant world to sustain
man at his highest is a region yet unexplored by modern
medical science which through force of habit pins its
faith on the shambles or at least milk and its by-products.
It is a duty which awaits discharge by Indian medical
men whose tradition is vegetarian. The fast developing
researches about vitamins and the possibility of getting
the most important of them directly from the sun bid
fair to revolutionize many of the accepted theories and
beliefs propounded by medical science about food.

Young India , 18-7-1929

T have found alter prolonged experiment and
observation that there is no fixed dietetic rule for all
constitutions. All that the wisest physicians claim for
their advice is that it is likely to benefit in a given case
as in a majority of cases they have found it to answer
fairly well. In no branch of science is the scientist so
hampered in his research as in the medical. He dare not
speak with certainty of the effect of a single drug or food
or of the reactions of human bodies. It is and will always
remain empirical. The popular saying that one man’s
food may be another’s poison is based on vast experience
which finds daily verification. Such being the case, the
field for experiment on the part of intelligent men and

VITAL NEED FOE RESEARCH

17

women is limitless. Laymen ought to acquire a workable
knowledge of the body which plays such an important
part in the evolution of the soul within. And yet about
nothing are we so woefully negligent or ignorant as in
regard to our bodies. Instead of using the body as a tem-
ple of God we use it as a vehicle for indulgences, and are
not ashamed to run to medical men for help in our effort
to increase them and abuse the earthly tabernacle.

Young India , 8 - 8-1929

Take up any modern text-book on food or vitamins,
and you would find in it a strong recommendation to
take a few edible green leaves uncooked at every meal.
Of course, these should always be well washed half a
dozen times to remove all dirt. These leaves are to be
had in every village for the trouble of picking. And
yet greens are supposed to be only a delicacy of cities.
Villagers in many parts of India live on dal and rice or
roti, and plenty of chillies, which harm the system. Since
the economic re-organization of villages has been com-
menced with food reform, it is necessary to find oul the
simplest and cheapest foods that would enable villagers
to regain lost health. The addition of green leaves to
their meals will enable villagers to avoid many diseases
from which they are now suffering. The villagers’ food
is deficient in vitamins; many of them can be supplied
by fresh green leaves. *

That, of course, means elaborate research and
examination in detail of the nourishing properties of
the innumerable leaves that are to be found hidden
among the grasses th^t grow wild in India.

Harijan, 15 - 2-1935

CHAPTER 4

VEGETARIANISM

A correspondent is born in a meat-eating family.
He has successfully resisted the pressure from his parents
to return to the flesh-pot. “But”, he says, “in a book I
have before me, I read the opinion of Swami Viveka-
nand on the subject and feel a good deal shaken in my
belief. Thi Swami holds that for Indians in their present
state flesh-diet is a necessity and he advises his friends
to eat flesh freely. He even goes so far as to say, ‘if you
incur any sin thereby throw it upon me; I will bear it.’
I am now in a fix whether to eat flesh or not.”

This blind worship of authority is a sign of weak-
ness of mind. If the correspondent has such a deep-
seated conviction that flesh-eating is not right, why
should he be moved by the opinion to the contrary of
the whole world? One needs to be slow to form convic-
tions, but pnce formed they must be defended against
the heaviest odds.

As for the opinion of the great Swami, I have not
seen the actual writing but I fear the correspondent
has correctly quoted him. My opinion is well known.
I do not regard flesh-food as necessary for us at any
stage and under any clime in which it is possible for
human beings ordinarily to live. I hold flesh-food to be
unsuited to our species. We err in copying the lower
animal world if we are superior to it. Experience teaches
that animal food is unsuited to those who would curb
their passions.

But it is wrong to over-estimate the importance of
food in the formation of character or in subjugating
the flesh. Dipt is a powerful factor not to be neglected.

18

VEGETARIANISM

19

But to sum up all religion in terms of diet, as is often
done in India, is as wrong as it is to disregard all res-
traint in regard to diet and to give full reins to one’s
appetite. Vegetarianism is one of the priceless gifts of
Hinduism. It may not be lightly given up. It is neces-
sary, therefore, to correct the error that vegetarianism
has made us weak in mind or body or passive or inert
in action. The greatet Hindu reformers have been the
activest in their generation and they have invariably
been vegetarians. Who could show greater activity
than say Shankara or Dayanand in their times ?

But my correspondent must not accept me as his
authority. The choice of one’s diet is not a thing to be
based on faith. It is a matter for every one to reason
out for himself. There has grown up especially in the
West an amount of literature on vegetarianism which
any seeker after truth may study with profit. Many
eminent medical men have contributed to this literature.
Here, in India, we have not needed any encourage-
ment for vegetarianism. For it has been hitherto accepted
as the most desirable and the most respectable thing.
Those, however, who like the correspondent feel shaken,
may study the growing movement towards vegetaria-
nism in the West.

Young India , 7 - 10-1926

One should eat not in order to please the palate
but just to keep the body going. When each organ of
sense subserves the body and through the body the soul,
its special relish disappears, and then alone does it begin
to function in the way nature intended it to do.

Any number of experiments is too small and no
sacrifice is too great for attaining this symphony with
nature. But unfortunately the current is nowadays
flowing strongly in the opposite direction. We are not

20

Till-: MORAL BASIS OF VEGETARIANISM

ashamed to sacrifice a multitude of other lives in decorat-
ing the perishable body and trying to prolong its exis-
tence for a few fleeting moments, with the result that
we kill ourselves, both body and soul. In trying to cure
one old disease, we give rise to a hundred new ones;
in trying to enjoy the pleasures of sense, we lose in the
end even our capacity for enjoyment. All this is passing
before our very eyes, but there are none so blind as
those who will not sec.

Autobiography, p. 237, Edn. 1958

There is a great deal of truth in the saying that
man becomes what he eats. The grosser the food the
grosser the body.
liar ij an, 5-8- 1 933

I do feel that spiritual progress does demand at
some stage that we should cease to kill our fellow crea-
tures for the satisfaction of our bodily wants.- The beauti-
ful lines of Goldsmith occur to me as I tell you of my
vegetarian fad:

No flocks that range the valley free
To slaughter I condemn;

Taught by the Power that pities me
I learn to pity them.

'India's Case for Swdraj , pp. 402, 403, Edn. 1932

CHAPTER 5

NOT AN END IN ITSELF

Abstemiousness from intoxicating drinks and drugs,
and from all kinds of foods, especially meat, is undoub-
tedly a great aid to the evolution of the spirit, but it
is by no means an end in itself. Many a man eating
meat and with everybody but living in the fear of God
is nearer his freedom than a man religiously abstaining
from meat and many other things, but blaspheming
God in every one of his acts.

Toting India, 6-10-'21

Abjure brinjals or potatoes by all means, if you
will, but do not for heaven’s sake begin to feel yourself
self-righteous or flatter yourself that you are practising
Ahimsa on that account. The very idea is enough to make
one blush. Ahimsa is not a mere matter of dietetics, it
transcends it. What a man eats or drinks matters little;
it is the self-denial, the self-restraint behind it that
matters. By all means practise as much restraint in the
choice of the articles of vour diet as you like. The res-
traint is commendable, even necessary, but it touches
only the fringe of Ahimsa. A man may allow himself
a wide latitude in the matter of diet and yet may be a
personification of Ahimsa and compel our homage,
if his heart overflows with love and melts at another’s
woe, and has been purged of all passions. On the other
hand, a man always overscrupulous in diet is an utter
stranger to Ahimsa and a pitiful wretch, if he is a slave
to selfishness and passions and is hard of heart.

Young India, 6-9- 192ft

22 THE MORAL BASIS OF VEGETARIANISM

I am painfully aware of the fact that my desire to
continue life in the body involves me in constant himsa.
That is why I am becoming growingly indifferent to
this physical body of mine. For instance, I know that
in the act of respiration I destroy innumerable invisible
germs floating in the air. But I do not stop breathing
The consumption of vegetables involves himsa , but
I find that I cannot give them up. Again, there is himsa
in the use of antiseptics, yet I cannot bring myself tc
discard the use of disinfectants like kerosene, etc., tc
rid myself of the mosquito pest and the like. I suffei
snakes to be killed in the Ashram when it is impossible
to catch them and put them out of harm’s way. I ever
tolerate the use of the stick to drive the bullocks in the
Ashram. Thus there is no end of himsa which I directl)
and indirectly commit .... If, as a result of this humble
confession of mine, friends choose to give me up as lost,
I would be sorry, but nothing will induce me to try tc
conceal my imperfections in the practice of Ahimsa.
All I claim for myself is that I am ceaselessly trying to
understand the implications of great ideals like Ahimsa
and to practise them in thought, word and deed and
that not without a certain measure of success as I think.
But I know that I have a long distance yet to cover in
this direction.

Toting India, 1-11-1928

CHAPTER 6

THE MORAL BASIS OF VEGETARIANISM

[Address to the London Vegetarian Society* on 20th November,
1931.]

When I received the invitation to be present at
this meeting, I need not tell you how pleased I was,
because it revived old memories and recollections of
pleasant friendships formed with vegetarians. I feel
especially honoured to find on my right Mr. Henry
Salt. It was Mr. Salt’s book, A Tlea for Vegetarianism ,
which showed me why, apart from a hereditary habit,
and apart from my adherence to a vow administered
to me by my mother, it was right to be a vegetarian.
He showed me why it was a moral duty incumbent on
vegetarians not to live upon fellow-animals. It is, there-
fore, a matter of additional pleasure to me that I find
Mr. Salt in our midst.

I do not propose to take up your time by giving
you my various experiences of vegetarianism, nor do
I want to tell you something of the great difficulty that
faced me in London itself in remaining staunch to vege-
tarianism, but I would like to share with you some of
the thoughts that have developed in me in connec-
tion with vegetarianism. Forty years ago I used to mix
freely with vegetarians. There was at that time hardly
a vegetarian restaurant in London that I had not

♦During his student days in England Gandhiji had become a mem-
ber of this Society and had been elected subsequently as its Secretary.
Dr. Oldfield was President. In 1931, when Gandhiji was in England for
the Round Table Conference on India, he was invited to address the
Society.

23

24 THE MORAL BASIS OF VEGETARIANISM

visited. I made it a point, out of curiosity, and to study
the possibilities of vegetarianism and vegetarian restau-
rants in London, to visit every one of them. Naturally,
therefore, I came into close contact with many vegeta-
rians. I found at the tables, that largely the conversa-
tion turned upon food and disease. I found also that
the vegetarians who were struggling to stick to their
vegetarianism were finding it difficult from health point
of view. I do not know whether, nowadays, you have
those debates, but I used at that time to attend debates
that were held between vegetarians and vegetarians,
and between vegetarians and non-vegetarians. I remem-
ber one such debate, between Dr. Densmore and the
late Dr. T. R. Allinson. Then vegetarians had a habit
of talking of nothing but food and nothing but disease.
I feel that that is the worst way of going about the
business. I notice also that it is those persons who become
vegetarians because they are suffering from some disease
or other — that is, from purely the health point of view —
it is those persons who largely fall back. I discovered
that for remaining staunch to vegetarianism a man
requires a moral basis.

For me that was a great discovery in my search
after truth. At an early age, in the course of my experi-
ments, I found that a selfish basis would not serve the
purpose of taking a man higher and higher along the
paths of evolution. What was required was an altruistic
purpose. I found also that health was by no means the
monopoly of vegetarians. I found many people having
no bias one way or the other, and that non-vegetarians
were able to show, generally speaking, good health.
I found also that several vegetarians found it im
possible^ to remain vegetarians because they had made
food a fetish and because they thought that by becoming

THE MORAL BASIS OF VEGETARIANISM

25

vegetarians they could eat as much lentils, haricot beans,
and cheese as they liked. Of course those people could
not possibly keep their health. Observing along these
lines, I saw that a man should eat sparingly and now
and then fast. No man or woman really ate sparingly or
consumed just that quantity which the body requires
and no more. We easily fall a prey to the temptations
of the palate, and therefore when a thing tastes delicious
we do not mind taking a morsel or two more. But you
cannot keep health under those circumstances. There-
fore I discovered that in order to keep health, no matter
what you ate, it was necessary to cut down the quantity
of your food, and reduce the number of meals. Become
moderate ; err on the side of less, rather than on the side
of more. When I invite friends to share their meals
with me I never press them to take anything except
only what they require. On the contrary, I tell them
not to take a thing if they do not want it.

What I want to bring to your notice is that vegeta-
rians need to be tolerant if they want to convert others
to vegetarianism. Adopt a little humility. We should
appeal to the moral sense of the people who do not see
eye to eye with us. If a vegetarian became ill, and a
doctor prescribed beef-tea, then I would not call him
a vegetarian. A vegetarian is made of sterner stuff.
Why? Because it is for the building of the spirit and not
of the body. Man is more than meat. It is the spirit
in man for which we are concerned. Therefore vegeta-
rians should have 1 that moral basis — that a man was
not born a carnivorous animal, but born to live on the
fruits and herbs that the earth grows. I know we must
all err. I would give up milk if I could, but I cannot.
I have made that experiment times without number
I could not, after a serious illness, regain my siren gt

26 THE MORAL BASIS OF VEGETARIANISM

unless I went back to milk. That has been the tragedy
of my life. But the basis of my vegetarianism is not
physical, but moral. If anybody said that I should die
if I did not take beef-tea or mutton, even under medical
advice, I would prefer death. That is the basis of my
vegetarianism. I would love to think that all of us who
called ourselves vegetarians should have that basis.
There were thousands of meat-eaters who did not stay
meat-eaters. There must be a definite reason for our
making that change in our lives, for our adopting habits
and customs different from society, even though some-
times that change may offend those nearest and dearest
to us. Not for the world should you sacrifice a moral
principle. Therefore the only basis for having a
vegetarian society and proclaiming a vegetarian
principle is, and must be, a moral one. I am not
to tell you, as I see and wander about the world,
that vegetarians, on the whole, enjoy much better
health than meat-eaters. I belong to a country which
is predominantly vegetarian by habit or necessity.
Therefore I cannot testify that that shows much greater
endurance, much greater courage, or much greater
exemption from disease. Because it is a peculiar, per-
sonal thing. It requires obedience, and scrupulous
obedience, to all the laws of hygiene.

Therefore, I think that what vegetarians should
do is not to emphasize the physical consequences of
vegetarianism, but to explore the moral consequences.
While we have not yet forgotten that we share many
things in common with the beast, we do not sufficiently
realize that there are certain things which differentiate
us from the beast. Of course, we have vegetarians in
the cow and the bull — which are better vegetarians
than we are — but there is something much higher

THE MORAL BASIS OF VEGETARIANISM 27

which calls us to vegetarianism. Therefore, I thought
that, during the few minutes which I give myself the
privilege of addressing you, I would just emphasize
the moral basis of vegetarianism. And I would say that
I have found from my own experience, and the
experience of thousands of friends and companions,
that they find satisfaction, so far as vegetarianism is
concerned, from the moral basis they have chosen for
sustaining vegetarianism.

In conclusion, I thank you all for coming here and
allowing me to sec vegetarians face to face. I cannot
say I used to meet you forty or forty-two years ago. I
suppose the faces of the London Vegetarian Society
have changed. There are very few members who, like
Mr. Salt, can claim association with the Society extend-
ing over forty years. Lastly, I would like you, if you
want to, to ask me any questions, for I am at vour dispo-
sal for a few minutes.

[Gandhiji was then asked to give his reasons for limiting his daily
diet to five articles only, and (he) replied :]

That has no connection with vegetarianism ....
There was another reason. I had been a pampered
child of nature. I had acquired then that notoriety that
when I was invited to friends, they placed before me
ample dishes of food. I told them I had come there to
serve, and, personally, I should find myself dying by
inches if I allowed myself to be pampered like that.
So, in limiting myself to five ingredients of food, I
served a double purpose. And I must finish all my eating
before sundown. I have been saved many pitfalls by
that. There are many discoveries about that in regard
to health reasons. Dietists are saying that we are more
and more tending towards simplifying diet, and that
if one must live for health one must have one thing at

28

TIIE MORAL BASIS OF VEGETARIANISM

a time and avoid harmful combinations. I like the pro-
cess of exclusion better than that of inclusion, because
no two doctors have the same opinion.

Then, I think the restriction to five articles of food
has helped me morally and materially— materially
because, in a poor country like India it is not always
possible to procure goat’s milk, and it is a hard thing
to produce fruit and grapes. Then, I go to visit poor
people, and if I expected hot-house grapes, they would
banish me. So, by restricting myself to five articles of
food, it also serves the law of economy.

Harijan, 20-2-1949

CHAPTER 7

OUR DAILY DIET

Rice

Whole, unpolished rice is unprocurable in the
bazars. It is beautiful to look at and rich and sweet to
the taste. Mills can never compete with this unpoli-
shed rice. It is husked in a simple manner. Most of the
paddy can be husked in a light chakki without difficulty.
There are some varieties the husk of which is not
separated by grinding. The best way of treating such
paddy is to boil it first and then separate the chaff from
the grain. This rice, it is ^aid, is most nutritious and,
naturally, the cheapest. In the villages, if they husk
their own paddy, it must always be cheaper for the
peasants than the corresponding mill-husked rice,
whether polished or unpolished. The majority of rice,
found ordinarily in the bazars is always more or less
polished, whether hand-husked or mill-husked. Wholly
unpolished rice is always hand-husked and is every time

OUR DAILY DIET 29

cheaper than the mill-husked rice, the variety being
the same.

Harijan , 25-1-1935

Wheat

That branless (wheat) flour is as bad as polished
rice is the universal testimony of medical men. Whole-
wheat flour ground in one’s own chakki is any day
superior to, and cheaper than, the fine flour to be had
in the bazars. It is cheaper because the cost of grinding
is saved. Again, in the whole-wheat flour there is no
loss of weight. In fine flour there is loss of weight. The
richest part of wheat is contained in its bran. There is
a terrible loss of nutrition when the bran of wheat is
removed. The villagers and others who eat whole-
wheat flour ground in their own chakkis save their money
and, what is more important, their health. A large part
of the millions that flour-mills make will remain in and
circulate among the deserving poor when village grind-
ing is revived.

Harijan, 1-2-1935
Cereals

Another physician quotes a text against the use of
sprouted puLses but he too lacks actual experience for
supporting his text. And this has been my complaint
against many Ayurvedic physicians. I have no doubt
that there is abundant ancient wisdom buried in the
Sanskrit medical works. Our physicians appear to be too
lazy to unearth that wisdom in the real sense of the term.
They are satisfied with merely repeating the printed
formula. Even as a layman I know many virtues are
claimed for several Ayurvedic preparations. But where
is their use, if they cannot be demonstrated today?
I plead for the sake of this ancient science for a spirit
of genuine search among our Ayurvedic physicians.

30

THE MORAL BASIS OF VEGETARIANISM

I am as anxious as the tallest among them can be to
free ourselves from the tyranny of Western medicines
which are ruinously expensive and the preparation of
which takes no count of the higher humanities.

Young India , 8-8-1929

Milk

It is my firm conviction that man need take no
milk at all, beyond the mother’s milk that he takes as
a baby. His diet should consist of nothing but sun-
baked fruits and nuts. He can secure enough nourish-
ment both for the tissues and the nerves from fruits
like grapes and nuts like almonds. Restraint of the
sexual and other passions becomes easy for a man who
lives on such food. My co-workers and I have seen by
experience that there is much truth in the Indian proverb
that as a man eats, so shall he become.

Autobiography , p. 200, Edn. 1958

Honey

My own experience of taking honey mixed with
hot water extends to more than four years. I have experi-
enced no ill-effect whatsoever. Objection has also been
raised against the use of honey on humanitarian grounds.
This objection has, I admit, considerable force though
the Western method of gathering honey is cleaner
and less open to objection. I fear that if I would be
strictly logical I should have to cut down many things
I take or use. But life is not governed by strict logic. It
is an organic growth, seemingly irregular, growth follow-
ing its own law and logic. ... Western doctors bestow
high praise upon it. Most of them who condemn the
use of sugar in unmeasured terms speak highly of honey
which they say does not irritate as refined sugar or even
gur docs.

Young India , 8-8-1929

OUR DAILY DIET

31

Gur

According to the medical testimony. . .gur is
any day superior to refined sugar in food value, and if
the villagers cease to make gur as they are beginning
to do, they will be deprived of an important food adjunct
for their children. They may do without gur themselves,
but their children cannot without undermining their
stamina .... Retention of gur and its use by the people
in general means several crores of rupees retained by
the villagers.

Harijait' 1 - 2-1935

Fruits

No one perhaps, as far as I know, has eaten as
much fruit as I have, having lived for six years on entirely
fruits and nuts and always having had a liberal supply
of fruit as part of my ordinary diet. But I had in my
mind, when writing, the special conditions of India.
Its people should have, by reason of its extent and
variety of climate, a most liberal supply of fruits, vege-
tables and milk. Yet it is the poorest country in this res-
pect. I therefore suggested what seemed to me to be
feasible. But I heartily endorse the proposition that for
retaining health fresh fruit and fresh vegetables should
form the main part of our diet. It is for the medical
profession to study the peculiar condition of India and
suggest the list of vegetables and fruit which are or can
be easily and cheaply grown in the villages for local
consumption. Wild berries, for instance, grow abun-
dantly. They may not be taken to the" market for sale
but can be used for the picking. This is a vast field for
research. It can bring neither money nor perhaps fame.
But it may earn the gratitude of dumb millions.

Harijan, 15 - 3-1942

32 THE MORAL BASIS OF VEGETARIANISM

Green Leaves

I had introduced to me the leaves of sarsav, suva y
turnip-tops, carrot- tops, radish-tops and pea-nut leaves.
Besides these, it is hardly necessary to state that the
radish, turnip and carrot tubers are also known to be
edible in their raw state. It is waste of money and ‘good’
taste to cook these leaves or tubers. The vitamins con-
tained in these vegetables are wholly or partially lost
in cooking. I have called cooking these waste of ‘good’
taste, because the uncooked vegetables have a natural
good taste of their own which is destroyed by cooking.

Harijan, 15-2-lR3">

Condiments

Common salt may be rightly counted as the king
among condiments. Many people cannot eat their food
without it. The body requires certain salts and common
salt is one of them. These salts occur naturally in the
various foodstuffs but when food is cooked in an un-
scientific way, e.g. throwing away the water in which
rice, potatoes or other vegetables have been boiled,
the supply becomes inadequate. The deficiency then
has to be made up by a separate addition of salts. As
common salt is one of the most essential salts for the
body, ...it might be supplemented in small quantities.

But several condiments are not required by the
body as a general rule, e.g. chillies fresh or dry, peper,
turmeric, coriander, caraway, mustard, methi , asafoe-
tida, etc. These are taken just for the satisfaction of the
palate. My opinion, based on my personal experience
of fifty years, is that not one of these is needed to keep
perfectly healthy. Those whose digestion has become
very feeble might take these things as medicines for a
certain length of time, if considered necessary. But one

minimum diet

33

should make it a point to avoid their use for the satis-
faction of the palate. All condiments, even salt, destroy
the natural flavour of vegetables and cereals etc. Those
whose palate has not become \itiated enjoy the natural
flavour of the foodstuffs much more than after the
addition of salt or other condiments. That is why I have
said that salt should be taken when necessary as an
adjunct. As for chillies, they burn the mouth and irritate
the stomach. Those who are not in the habit of taking
chillies cannot bear them in the beginning. I have seen
several cases of sore mouth caused by the taking of
chillies. I know of one case who was very fond of chillies,
and an excessive use resulted in his premature death.

Key to Health , pp. 27-29, Edn. 1956

CHAPTER 8

MINIMUM DIET

Use one grain at a time. Chapati , rice and pulses,
milk, gkee , gur and oil are used in ordinary households
besides vegetables and fruit. I regard this as an unhealthy
combination. Those who get animal protein in the
shape of milk, cheese, eggs or meat need not use pulses
at all. The poor people get only vegetable protein.
If the well-to-do give up pulses and oils, they set
free these two essentials for the poor who get neither
animal protein nor animal fat. Then the grain eaten
should not be sloppy. Half the quantity suffices when
it is eaten dry and not dipped in any gravy. It is well
to eat it with raw salads such as onion, carrot, radish,
salad leaves, tomatoes. An ounce or two of salads serve
the purpose of eight ounces of cooked vegetables.
Ckapatis or bread should not be eaten with milk. To
begin with, one meal may be raw vegetables and chapati

34

THE MORAL BASIS OF VEGETARIANISM

or bread, and the other cooked vegetables with milk
or curds.

Sweet dishes should be eliminated altogether.
Instead gur in small quantities may be taken with
milk or bread or by itself.

Fresh fruit is good to eat, but only a little is neces-
sary to give tone to the system. It is an expensive article,
and an over-indulgence by the well-to-do has deprived
the poor and the ailing of an article which they need
much more than the well-to-do.

Any medical man who has studied the science of
dietetics will certify that what I have suggested can do
no harm to the body, on the contrary it must conduce to
better health.

Harijan, 25 - 1-1942

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